How I make Ganache

Ganache covered Zebra Cheesecake

Ganache refers to a variety of icing, fillings for pastries, and glazes. It is typically made from chocolate and cream. Its origins date to around 1850, when it may have been invented in Switzerland or in France.

Ganache is normally made by heating heavy/double cream, then pouring it over chopped dark chocolate. The mixture is stirred or blended until smooth, and can be enhanced with liqueurs or extracts. Depending on the kind of chocolate used, cream should be adjusted to reach desired consistency.

Bonobo Cakes Ganache

• 8oz Heavy Cream

• 12oz Good Quality Dark Chocolate

• optional: 2 to 3 Tablespoons Cold Butter

• optional: 2 to 3 Tablespoons of Liqueur

Chop Chocolate and place in a bowl.  Please note that for this tutorial I ran out of good chocolate and used a few Nestle chocolate chips to complete the recipe.  It will still work, however it will not firm up as much as good chocolate would.

Place cream in a saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to bubble on the edges (do not scorch it).

Then simply pour your hot cream over the chocolate and wait.

Count to 30 or do 5 ballerina twirls with your kids.  Then stir with a wire whisk until smooth and dark.  Do not worry, it will look odd at first and then thicken and come together in a matter of minutes.

Now you can add the butter, if you want your finished Ganache shiny, or liqueur if you are making a filling for truffles or cheesecake.

If you are pouring it on something, like a ready made truffel ball, or cheesecake, this is the time to pour it or spread it.

If you want to use it as a cake filling or icing, let it cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, and then beat at medium to high speed until it becomes cramy and silky, about 3-6 minutes.

If you are using it as a truffle filling, then refrigerate it now.  Remove it in 3-4 hours and shape as desired.  Place back in fridge for another 30 minutes before coating it in tempered chocolate or cocoa powder.  Enjoy!

Truffles

Truffles are loved by most all, even the small and tall.  I made a beautiful Dark Chocolate Caramel Ganache and White Chocolate Kahlua Ganache to roll my truffles with.  Once set, they were rolled in crushed almonds, cocoa powder, Hersey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder, or dipped in white chocolate or dark chocolate.  I had also made some coconut joys the previous day that were added.  Boxed up in white tissue with red ribbon, they became quiet festive.  They were very decadent, yet so easily crafted.

Very Belated Halloween Cupcakes

A friend and I threw a Halloween party for our children this year.  Most of them are still toddlers, so it was a non-scary daylight party at the park.  It turned out to be a gorgeous day and all but one family showed up.  We had a witch race, the children raced with a broom stick between their legs, so funny!  A witched cauldron full of green slime and creepy bugs entertained the children and grossed out the adults.  I think everyone enjoyed the awesome home made pumpkin pinata, it was so strong, we finally had to dump the candy out!  After all the hard playing everyone sat down and enjoyed some of my cupcakes.  Red velvet topped with a circle of dark chocolate ganache, and white cake with Swiss buttercream icing colored to match the festivities.  I used white and black royal icing to pipe on the web and added a spider ring to complete the look!